1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a fishing-rod reel and, more specifically, a handle arrangement mounted to a fishing-reel crank.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Cranks are well known and have long been used on fishing reels. In general, such cranks consist of a crank arm connected on one side to a part of the fishing reel which must be cranked, and further a handle mounted on the arm for rotation about its own longitudinal axis. Known cranks incorporate variously shaped handles. Some known cranking handles, as exemplified in German Offenlegungsschrift 1,945,137; French patents 1,300,841 and 1,245,007; U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,775,418 and 3,296,731; and German patent 2,421,879, are made of wood or plastic and evince diverse shapes. These cranking handles are directly or indirectly supported by a support pin which, on one side, is rigidly joined to the crank arm. Such assemblies only permit rotation of the handles about their own longitudinal axes, while other motions are precluded.
In a conventional fishing reel, the support pin is located at the end of the crank arm and is enclosed by a cylinder. In casting reels, the support pin is located directly at the edge of the line reel and, as a general rule, is enclosed by a cylinder. The handles of these known types of fishing-rod reels are rigidly affixed to the crank or to the line reel. This construction presents the following ergonometric problem: When the crank is being rotated, the fingers, i.e. the index finger and the thumb, compress the handle. Motional balance must be supplied by the wrist, which may lead to stressing and spraining of the wrist. Further, the skin is torsionally stressed at the contact areas between the finger tips and the rest-surface of the handle. Heretobefore, this stress could only be compensated at the wrist. In addition, once the wrist has been stressed, a lure can no longer be guided uniformly.